Means for flushing outboard motors



July 7, 1953 F. M. HOUCHIN MEANS FOR FLUSHING OUTBOARD MOTORS Fil-ed March 16,- 1951 Fig.

IN V EN TOR.

Patented July 7, 1953 2,c44,474 Y i MEANS FOR'FLUSHING ou'rnoann Morons Frank M. Houchin, Miami, Fla., assignor of onehalfto William C. Lauth,,Miami, Fla.

Application Mai-ch16, 1951, Serial No. 215,907

Claims: (01. 134-166) P The present invention relates to an impr means-for effectively flushin and cleansing-the coolant'jacket' of outboard marine engines of the "detachable type and the obvious purpose of the invention "is to enable one toperiodically' bring the engine ashore and flush the stated jacket so that same maybem'aintained in asatisfactoryjcondition for efficient operatio'n 'atall times.- v e It is-a matter of common knowledge that cut board motors which are used in bodies of salt oved waterare subject to corrosion and rusting; It is highly important, therefore, to flush the coolant circulating jacket from time to time and to,- in this manner, prevent hampered circulation and clogging. I

, It is customary practice to detachthe'outboard motor fromthelboat'or other craft and to submerge'the same in fresh water contained in a suitably sized drum or barrel; During the flush;- ing operation, it is necessary to operate the motor, which brings the customary pump into play, and circulates the fresh water through the cooling" system and expels the salt water or coolant right back into the'fresh' water,jas is well known. The fresh water is "thus partly charged with salt water and'is unsatisfactory as a good flushing and cleansin fluid.

There has long existed a recognized need for a -more satisfactoryjmean's for flushing and cleansing outboard motors, particularly the coolantcirculating jacket. The present invention,

' therefore, has to do with practical and acceptable simple and efiicient 'structural devices in which manufacturers and users will find their essential requirements and needs fully met, contained'and efie'ctually available.

' When an outboard motor is in use on a'cra'ft, the'water for cooling purpo'sesds" provided through the action of 'a vari-volume'impeller or equivalent type pump which, as a general rule, is operatedfrom the motor drive shaft. The pump forces .the water through a vertical delivery-pipe or the like directly into the water intake at the bottom of the water jacket provided in the motor or cylinder block. The wateris circulated through the jacket and empties through a discharge opening also in the bottom of-the' jacketfthis by way of an existing elbow, passes through the elbow and then through a suitably curved length of tubing from which it is} discharged into the depending drive shaft housing-which latter servesas the exhausthousing. The dischargewater is expelled with'the exhaust gases by way of the; customary underwater exhaust outlet carried by said housing;

--Briefly, the herein described invention'has to do'with forciblyexpelling used coolant from the coolant circulating jacket of the "stated'motor block, this being done with the motor out of the water and, of course, not running. The procedure consists in directly-injecting fresh water or an: equivalent cleansing-fluid, l'wh'ich isfunder pressure from an external source. The flushing water is introduced directly into the discharge end of the coolant jacket, is caused to fiowin areversedirection and leaves or discharges f rom the jacket, with the salt water coolant, by way of the coolant intake port, openings in the pump housing, and the pipe or line which connects Said housing with the usual coolant inlet or port.

a It is well known that while an outboard motor is running, that portion of the discharged'cooling water that enters the exhaust housingnear; the exhaust cylinder ports of the motor is keptf from enterin suchexhaust ports by the pres sure of the burnt gases discharged from said exhaust ports; isconverted into a cooling steam which lowers the temperature of the burnt exhaust gases, thereby contracting the burnt gases and allowing them to be discharged through the underwater exhaust outlet with less back pressure on the exhaust system, at the same time,"

lowering the temperature of all metals which' the exhaust gases contact.

More specifically, the function of the'dev'iceis to flush out brine solutionvfrom the cooling systern after salt wate operation, by' by-passing all openings such as the waterv outlet tube or opening that normally discharges cooling water, in Whole or in part, into exhaust pipe, exhaust tubes or drive shaft housing near exhaust ports;

pistons, piston rings and cylinder walls'of the .1

engine.

Employment of the means herein disclosed eliminates the necessity of usin a drum or bar-' rel filled with fresh water, does away with the dilution of the fresh water with saltwater, ob-

viatesthe necessity of operating the motor while flushing, saves times, eliminates noise, is altooutboard motors.

Other objects and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying sheet of 'illus trative drawings.

In the accompanying sheet of drawings, wherein like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughout the'views: 'Y

Figure is a side elevational view, w th-p55 tions broken away and shown in section, 'of a, of the detach conventional-type outboard motor able type showing the invention;

Figure 2 i s a n enlarged view in section and? elevation showingthe assembly, the T -couplingi detachable nozzle and means to accommodate the hose and discharge tubing, respectively;

Figure 3 is an elevational view, parts being in section'of the T-coupling which is substituted; for the usual elbow found on conventional out board motors; and

Figure 4 is a crhss s ection on the' horizontal line 44 of Figure 2, looking in the direct'io"n .1 .of'the arrows' Reference being had to Figure 1, the motor proper is denoted generally by the reference character 6 and includes the cylinder block 8, one of the pistons l and the water jacket [2. The numeral l4 denotes the vertical or depending hollow housing which encases the drive shaft and other parts. This housing includes the usual underwater exhaust branch IS. The drive shaft is denoted at 16 and intermeshing gears at 20 and 22, these driving the power take-oh. shaft 24 which operates the exteriorly disposed propeller. and the rotor or impeller, as the case maybe, at 30. Attached to and rising vertically from the pump housing is the delivery pipe or line 32 which ascends water under pressure into the bottom of the jacket 12 at the usual intake port or inlet (not shown). The numeral 34 designates a hook or similar clamp which suspends the over-all outboard motor on a boat or other craft. Under ordinary circumstances an elbow (not shown) is attached to the discharge end 36 of the circulating jacket and a length of tubing 38 is attached to the elbow and delivers the exhausted coolant into the exhaust housing where, as before stated, it is discharged through the outlet 16.

To pave the way for the utilization of the mechanical means which is herein involved and employed, the customary elbow (not shown) is detached from the coolant discharge port and the special adapter-type fitting 49 is substituted therefor. This fitting as shown in Figures 2 and 3 is a T construction. The upper vertical branch 42 is externally screw-threaded at 44 and is screwed into the discharge port at the point 36 as shown in Figure 1. This branch 42 is also internally screw-threaded, as at 46. The lower vertical branch 48 is screw-threaded, as at 50, and this serves to accommodate an insertable and removable screw-plug 52. The latter'has a screwdriver kerf 54 for convenience of removal and insertion. The intermediate or horizontal branch 56 has a screw-threaded nipple 58 to which the aforementioned discharge tubing 38 is connected. Thus, with the plug 52 in place, the fitting 48 functions as usual.

The second unit or part takes the form of an injector nozzle which is denoted, as a unit, by the numeral 60. This is an elongated tube which, as shown in Figure 2, has a reduced neck 62 which is externally screw-threaded and is screwed into the threads 46.-- The intermediate portion of the nozzle extends downwardly through and beyond the screw-threaded opening where it is provided with a tool nut 64. It is also provided below the nut with a screw-threaded end or nipple 66 to accommodate an adapter 68 carrying a female-type swivelly mounted hose coupling 10. An ordinary garden hose 1! is threadedly connected, in an obvious manner, with the coupling 10.

With the parts as assembled in Figures 1 and 2 and with the garden hose attached, it will be obvious that the flush water, under city or other pressure, is introduced directly into the water jacket by way of the nozzle which, it will be noted, by-passes the branch 56. The flushing The pump housing is denoted at 28 series of Johnson outboard motors, whether using the propeller shaft driven type rubber rotor pump, or the drive shaft driven rubber impeller type pump. However, the device could as well be utilized on any make of outboard engine with the same beneficial results, where the said outboard marine engine discharged any portion of the cooling water into a combination drive shaft operation is performed after the outboard motor housing and exhaust housing or into a separate exhaust housing, since my chief claim is that by the use of this device, I by-pass or close off, any opening leading into the exhaust housing that normally discharges a portion of the cooling water therein, in order that the flushing operation may be safely accomplished by directing and confining all such flushing water to the jacket of the outboard motor in such a manner to assure that no flushing water under pressure during the flushing operation could enter the exhaust housing and enter motor exhaust cylinder ports thereby causing rust of cylinder wall, piston rings'or other internal, highly finished motor parts.

It is thought that persons skilled in the art to which the invention relates will be able to obtain a clear understanding of the invention after considering the description in connection with the drawings. Therefore, a more lengthy description is regarded as unnecessary.

Minor changes in shape, size and arrangement of details coming within the field of invention claimed may be resorted to in actual practice, if desired.

Having described the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. In combination, a T-coupling having all of its branches open with one branch being both internally and externally screw-threaded, the opposite branch being internally screw-threaded to accommodate a screw-plug, the remaining branch being constructed to accommodate a coolant discharge tube, an injector nozzle telescopically fitting in and through said first named branches and having one end-screw-threaded and screwed into said first named branch, said nozzle bridging and blocking off said remaining branch and-extending through and beyond the second named branch and being provided with means whereby a garden hose may be attached thereto.

2. The structure defined in claim 1, wherein said means is a detachable union provided with a swivelly attached hose coupling.

FRANK M. HOUCHIN.

7 References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,556,417 Carrol Oct. 6, 1925 1,605,189 Hughes et al. Nov. 2, 1926 1,701,824 Robinson Feb; 12, 1929 1,903,016 Thomas Mar. 28, 1933 1,969,295 Davis Aug. 7, 1934. 2,005,385 OHara June 18, 1935 2,221,803 Krobusek Nov. 19,1940 2,224,900 Conover Dec. 17, 1940 2,327,449 Parker Aug. 24, 1943 2,413,997 Rosa Jan. 7, 1947 2,443,721 Butcher June 22, 1948 2,564,402 MacArthur Aug. 14, 1951 2,568,515 Scheiwer Sept. 18, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS Number 7 Country Date 615,350, Great Britain Jan. 5, 1949 

